India

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

India is the second most populous country in the world, its largest democracy and home to vast diversity in geography, climate, culture, language and ethnicity. Its civilization predates that of Europe. India won independence from Great Britain in 1947 following protest of British rule led by Mohandas K. Gandhi. Independence split British India into India and Pakistan, resulting in continuing animosities complicated by both countries’ possession of nuclear weapons.

Economic reforms begun in 1991 led to rapid economic growth and a burgeoning high-tech industry. Many have expressed hope that Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, who was elected prime minister in 2014, may begin to address the country’s continuing problems with widespread poverty, inequality, an entrenched caste system, corruption, energy and infrastructure needs and sexual violence.

Scroll below to learn more about India using our article archive and chronology of breaking news.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

Thousands of people gather in Rameswaram, India, for burial of former Pres A P J Abdul Kalam, whose role in creating a nuclear India was a source of pride and inspiration. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

Ballo Ke Journal; Satnam Singh Bhamara of Ballo Ke, India, becomes first Indian-born player ever drafted by National Basketball Association team; selection by Dallas Mavericks of the 7-foot, 2-inch tall player sets off wave of national pride in India and makes his family celebrities in Punjabi village. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

United Nations 2015 revision report indicates India’s population is growing rapidly and will surpass China by 2022, six years earlier than noted in 2013 forecast; report also estimates that world’s population, currently at 7.3 billion, will rise to 9.6 billion by 2050 and could reach 11.2 billion by end of century. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

Indian authorities hang Yakub Memon, mastermind of 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people and injured over 700, in retaliation against Hindu-militants who tore down Muslim holy site in 1992; is fourth person executed in India since 2000 and only one associated with the bombings. MORE

Jul. 28, 2015

At least five people are killed in Indian state of Punjab as gunmen in Indian Army uniforms fire on civilian bus and take over police station; gunmen are killed in extended shootout with police; five bombs are found wired to railroad tracks in area. MORE

Jul. 28, 2015

A P J Abdul Kalam, former president of India who played pivotal role in furthering country's nuclear program, dies at age 83. MORE

Jul. 25, 2015

Energy and Resources Institute, governing council of a leading energy institute in India, is replacing its director general Rajendra K Pachauri, who is facing accusations of sexual harassment; Pachauri has already resigned from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change over allegations. MORE

Jul. 22, 2015

DealBook Online; Warburg Pincus will invest roughly $284 million in Indian real estate developer Piramal Realty; marks private equity firm's fifth investment in India in less than year. MORE

Jul. 19, 2015

Shivani Vora travel article on visit to Varanasi, India, to see city's famed silk weavers at work. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

At least four civilians are killed and several more wounded when Indian and Pakistani security forces clash along defacto border in disputed Kashmir region. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Stampede at Hindu festival in southern Indian state Andhra Pradesh kills at least 27 people. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Indian Supreme Court orders federal investigators to take over inquiry of two-year-old testing scandal in Madhya Pradesh state; ruling is response to whistle-blowers and opposition politicians accusing Madhya Pradesh government, led by Prime Min Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, of half-hearted probe. MORE

Jul. 9, 2015

Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin vows to add yoga to his exercise repertoire at meeting with Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi, who thanked Putin for Soviet’s salute of International Yoga Day, global celebration initiated by Modi; meeting was part of two Russian summit meetings with number of global leaders in attempt to show that Western efforts to isolate Russia over Ukrainian crisis have failed. MORE

Jul. 6, 2015

Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi's announcement of Digitial India campaign underscores fact that country has lagged behind rest of world in digital infrastructure, particularly in lack of progress in expanding fiber optic network; campaign aims to cut imports of electronics significantly and to provide all citizens with access to number of services digitally, although it is more statement of intent than set of policy proposals. MORE

Jul. 5, 2015

Onetime movie star Jayalalithaa Jayaram and screenwriter Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran have taken control of political life in South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where intrigue and movie mania have given them cult following and fueled fierce rivalry between them; Jayalalithaa, who has branded herself mother of Tamil people, has maintained her popularity despite her conviction on corruption charges. MORE

Jun. 29, 2015

China and India have adopted striking passivity in face of Southeast Asian refugee crisis, withholding support as thousands of Rohingya Muslims flee religious persecution in Myanmar; have also refused to pressure Myanmar's government into reform or to play roll in resettling efforts; refusal belies complex political issues but is nonetheless in contrast to past humanitarian efforts by both nations. MORE

Jun. 29, 2015

Manipuri pony, Indian breed of pony mainly bred for polo, is now endangered, as sport loses its popularity. MORE

Jun. 28, 2015

Strict law banning all forms of beef in Indian state Maharashtra threatens tenuous livelihoods of more than a million residents who rely on cattle supply chain; farmers dealing with failed crops and faulty irrigation infrastructure have used sale of bulls, rather than sacred cows, as fallback measure, and suicide has become common among desperate; while some 80 percent of India is Hindu, beef and buffalo market made up significant economic sector that is now hopelessly clogged. MORE

Jun. 28, 2015

Op-Ed article by Sonia Faleiro highlights examples of how decisions by Indian lawmakers are leading to citizens going hungry, such as rejecting proposal to incorporate eggs in meals provided at nursery schools due to religious objection; notes that many of these policies stem from Hindu nationalists intent on pressing their religious beliefs on non-Hindus; calls on Prime Min Narendra Modi to stop allowing his religion to dictate public policy. MORE

Jun. 26, 2015

Flooding caused by monsoon rains in Indian state Gujarat kills at least 41 people and destroys thousands of homes. MORE

Jun. 25, 2015

Indian National Congress party calls for resignation of Rajasthan State Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, widening scandal that has engulfed Prime Min Narendra Modi's governing party. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

AirAsia is reconfiguring its strategy for its expansion into India one year into its effort after failing to capture more than 1 percent of domestic airline passenger market, and will begin offering routes from Delhi; airline had previously focused on providing low-cost routes servicing smaller cities but encountered challenges, including stringent regulations and stiff competition. MORE

Jun. 22, 2015

Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi leads yoga demonstration in New Delhi, kicking off International Yoga Day holiday; holiday purports to restore national pride and begin return to ancient values in flawed modern age. MORE

Jun. 21, 2015

At least 84 people die after drinking toxic liquor in Mumbai, India, slum. MORE

Jun. 20, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Manil Suri weighs protests from Muslims and others that Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi's International Day of Yoga amounts to foisting Hinduism on general population; traces cultural and religious history of yoga, and says Modi's vision is remarkable in that it presents yoga in largely secular light; contends Modi's main motivation is not religious, but desire to reclaim piece of India's intellectual history and demonstrate his ability to unite diverse people. MORE

Jun. 16, 2015

Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi's Yoga Day initiative, featuring public yoga demonstration by 35,000 citizens, is aimed at improving health and mental habits of population and pushing back at Western lifestyle that has set in since colonial days; initiative, which contains echoes of Hindu nationalist thought, has drawn criticism from devout Muslims and others. MORE

Jun. 7, 2015

Valeria Luiselli describes unreliability of Internet connection at boarding school she attended in Maharashtra, India, and high emotions surrounding possibility of losing emails to one's family. MORE

Jun. 7, 2015

Samanth Subramanian recounts using nascent Internet and email to assuage his homesickness and keep in contact with high school girlfriend after leaving India for college in United States in 1999. MORE

Jun. 7, 2015

Op-Ed article by science scholars Robert Kopp, Matthew Huber and Jonathan Buzan warns that deadly heat waves like current one in India, deadliest since at least 1998, will become increasingly common due to global warming; notes that heat waves become deadly when they combine heat and humidity; observes that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could curtail threat heat waves pose for future. MORE

Jun. 5, 2015

Militants ambush Indian army convoy traveling in Manipur State, killing 20 soldiers and wounding 11; Manipur, in India's remote northeast, has 41 militant groups and government is in peace talks with 36. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

Sec of Defense Ashton B Carter travels to India in effort to forge military tie with country United States sees as crucial military partner in Asia, particularly in light of growing aggression of China in region. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Indian Army reports that four militants were killed in gun battle in state of Jammu and Kashmir on disputed border with Pakistan. MORE

May. 26, 2015

News Analysis; Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi gives speech in town of Mathura on anniversary of taking office; praises country's poor and farmers in attempt to counter criticism from opposition leaders in Parliament while avoiding economic topics relating to outsized campaign promises, which have largely gone unfulfilled. MORE

May. 24, 2015

Jayalalithaa Jayaram is sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, India, following court's overturning of her corruption conviction; Jayaram is one of country's most powerful politicians, with her party holding third largest number of seats in lower house of Parliament. MORE

May. 19, 2015

Aruna Shanbaug, former nurse at hospital in Mumbai who has spent years in vegetative state after being strangled and raped in 1973, dies of pneumonia; case was part of debate that led to India's legalization of euthanasia. MORE

May. 17, 2015

Ellen Barry Lives interview with Indian Jain nun Sonal Golecha, in which she describes process by which she abandoned plans to go to medical school in favor of ascetic, spiritual path. MORE

May. 16, 2015

Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi tells reporters after talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that both men agreed on 24 ways to improve relations between two countries; Modi notes he also said that Indian grievances over Chinese policies should be addressed, such as border disputes, trade imbalance and China's partnership with Pakistan. MORE

May. 15, 2015

May. 14, 2015

Three-day visit by Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi to China, touted by both he and Chinese Pres Xi Jinping as primarily a business trip, presents India with opportunity to strengthen economic partnership with its largest neighbor; Modi is faced, however, with task of balancing pursuit of economic goals while asserting India's security interests in light of history of territorial disputes between the two nations. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Crowded bus falls more than 150 feet into gorge in Kashmir and Jammu region of India, killing at least 25 people and injuring 30. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, former chief minister of India's Tamil Nadu state, is cleared of corruption on appeal and may return to public office. MORE

May. 12, 2015

IDC group reports phone sales in China declined 4 percent in first quarter 2015 from year earlier and that it does not expect smartphone market to grow in country in 2015; end to China's market boom has prompted many phone makers to shift focus to India, one of fastest-growing markets in world. MORE

May. 11, 2015

In Transit blog; tours by Delhi Food Walks give visitors to New Delhi chance to try authentic local foods. MORE

May. 9, 2015

Op-Ed article by journalist Kai Friese points to Indian actress and former porn star Sunny Leone as personification of way Indians view their sexual culture; suggests that Indians are comfortable with overt sexuality only from a distance, as in performances on film. MORE

May. 8, 2015

India's Parliament unanimously passes bill for constitutional amendment to resolve border dispute with Bangladesh; more than 160 enclaves exist near border in either country and are encircled by other nation's territory; agreement calls for land exchanges and allows thousands of people to select their country of citizenship; amendment needs to pass at least half of state legislatures before pact can go into effect. MORE

May. 7, 2015

Salman Khan, one of India's biggest movie stars, is found guilty by Mumbai court of culpable homicide in 2002 hit-and-run case; Khan ran over group of homeless men, killing one, while driving drunk; decision is seen as victory of common man over wealthy and highlights common problem of delays in justice due to India's clogged courts. MORE

May. 5, 2015

More than 20 people die and at least 10 more are injured when minibus skids off highway into gorge and catches fire in India's Madhya Pradesh state. MORE

May. 5, 2015

Tech start-ups in India are booming, with big interest from well-known investors in e-commerce firms; five million new Internet users are added monthly, many of them on mobile devices; start-up valuations are high. MORE

A meeting of the Indian National Congress did little to address flaws in a campaign that failed to connect with young voters, reducing the party’s representation in the lower house of Parliament from 206 seats to 44.

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India hanged Yakub Memon on Thursday for his role in the country's deadliest bombings, which killed at least 257 people in Mumbai in 1993, after the Supreme Court rejected a desperate overnight plea to delay his execution.